COmponents of the 2f1-f2-Distortion Product in the Ear Canal of the Bobtail Lizard

Abstract

Cubic distortion products (DP) in the sound field of the external auditory meatus have measured at several levels in a variety of species (e.g., Brown, 1987; Kemp and Brown, 1983, 1984, 1986; Kim et al., 1980; Lonsbury-Martin et al., 1987; Martin et al., 1987; Rosowski et al., 1984; Schmiedt and Adams, 1981; Schmiedt and Addy, 1982; Wilson, 1980; Zurek et al., 1982). The hearing organ processes acoustic stimuli which can differ enormously with reference to their sound pressure. As the ear is made up of a number of structures with different degrees of inherent nonlinearity, it is not surprising to find that the amount of distortion measurable is not only level dependent, but originates from a variety of sources (e.g., Brown, 1987; Kim et al., 1981; Rosowski et al., 1984; Whitehead et al., 1990). The distortion output in the ear canal resulting from these different sources depends in a complex way on the frequency, frequency ratio, level, and phase of the primary tones fed to the ear.